Decline Push-Ups: How to Improve Your Push-Up Game

Push-ups are a great way to build strength and endurance in your chest, shoulders, and triceps. However, many people struggle to see results with the traditional push-up after some time.

Here’s the solution:

If you want to take your push-up game to the next level, try decline push-ups.

Decline push-ups are a more challenging variation of the standard push-up that will work your muscles harder and help you achieve better results. This blog post will discuss how to do decline push-ups correctly and how they can help improve your overall fitness.

Keep scrolling below.

Table of Contents

How to Master Them

Decline push-ups are a great way to really work your chest and triceps.

Here’s how to do them:

Find something elevated – a couch, chair, table, or even a sturdy toy box will do the trick.
Place your hands on the ground shoulder-width apart.
Position your feet on the elevated surface so that your body forms a straight line from head to toe.
Bend your elbows and lower your body until your chest is just above the ground.
Pause for a moment, then push yourself back to the starting position.

Remember: Keep your core engaged throughout the entire exercise.

Start with three sets of ten reps and work your way up from there. Before you know it, you’ll be a decline push-up pro!

Mistakes to Avoid

Doing decline push-ups is not as easy as it sounds. You have to be very wary of not making the mistakes below:

Sagging your hips: This is a common mistake people make when doing decline push-ups. Remember to keep your body in a straight line from head to toe throughout the entire exercise. Otherwise, you can put too much pressure on your lumbar spine and get injured.

Bouncing off the ground: Bouncing off the ground decreases the muscle work decline push-ups are meant to provide. Lower yourself slowly and under control, then press back equally slowly.

Keeping your hands too much in front or the back: This position puts extra stress on your shoulders, elbows, and wrists, increasing your risk of injury.

Lifting your butt to heaven: This position defeats the purpose of a decline push-up, making it too easy for your chest, triceps, and core. Make sure there’s always a straight line from your feet to your shoulders to reap the whole range of decline push-up benefits. To do that, keep your core engaged and your legs tight.

Pro Tips

Decline push-ups are scalable push-up variations, meaning you can always make them harder (or easier).

If you need more of a challenge:

Place your feet on two separate objects instead of just one. The reason is to create more of a challenge for your upper body and core.

Try a higher plyo box to put your feet on. This variation’s purpose is to increase the force exercised on your upper body.

Don a weighted vest. Increasing the weight that your upper body has to lift means better-sculpted muscles.

Try doing decline push-ups with one arm. This will force your stabilizing muscles to work even harder and will really test your strength and endurance.

If you need less of a challenge:

Try decline push-ups from your knees. This variation is excellent for those who want to get used to the decline push-up movement before trying it from their toes.

Elevate your feet less. A lower decline will make this exercise easier on your body while still providing some chest and triceps work.

Wear a resistance band above your elbows. This way, you will stabilize your upper body more and increase your range of motion.

Benefits

Doing decline push-ups comes with a wide range of benefits:

Injury prevention: Decline push-ups help strengthen the stabilizing muscles around your shoulder blades and scapula, thus preventing injuries such as rotator cuff tears.

Improved shoulder mobility: Decline push-ups also help improve the range of motion in your shoulders. The reason is that decline push-ups force your shoulder blades to move through a greater range of motion than regular push-ups do.

More muscle definition: Decline push-ups allow you to overcome strength-training plateaus and sculpt your muscles efficiently.

More motivation: Knowing that decline push-ups are more challenging than regular push-ups can give you the extra motivation you need to stay on track with your fitness goals.

Increased endurance: These push-ups help improve your muscular endurance, meaning you’ll be able to do more decline push-ups (and regular push-ups) over time without getting as tired.

Improved cardiovascular health: Decline push-ups are a great way to get your heart rate up and improve your cardiovascular health.

Muscles Worked

Decline push-ups work similar muscles to regular push-ups. However, you can notice some significant differences.

Improved chest and triceps definition: This decline push-up variation hits your upper body muscles – namely, your chest, shoulders, and triceps – much harder than regular push-ups. As a result, you’ll see improved muscle definition in these areas, even if you’re doing fewer push-ups.

Stronger core: Since decline push-ups force you to keep your body in a straight line, they’re also great for working your core muscles. A strong core is essential for good posture, balance, and stability.

More shoulder impact: Decline push-ups also place more emphasis on your shoulders than regular push-ups do. As a result, you can expect improved strength and definition in your shoulders with a decline push-up training.

Glutes and legs: Elevating your legs during decline push-ups also forces your glutes and legs to work harder. The result is toning your glutes and legs better than a traditional push-up.

Alternatives

Alternatives to decline push-ups can be categorized into bodyweight exercises and gym machines you can use.

Bodyweight exercises that work similar muscles include:

Pike push-ups: Best for shoulders
Diamond push-ups: Best for triceps
Incline push-ups: Best for chest and upper back for beginners

Gym machines that work similar muscles include:

Pec deck machine: Best for chest
Lat pull-down machine: Best for upper back and shoulders
Cable flies: Best for your upper back and chest
Spin bikes: Best for total body muscle tone and fat-burn
Rowing machines: Best for whole body muscle building

Wrap Up

Decline push-ups are a great way to improve your upper body strength and definition. They also prevent injuries, improve shoulder mobility, and increase muscular endurance.

So if you’re looking for a new challenge, give decline push-ups a try.

You’ll thank us later.

Author
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John Claxton

John enjoys dark chocolate more than just about anything else and is a massive fan of science fiction books.

It wasn't until his late twenties that he found the passion for strength training, which helped him get into great shape and stay there.

Besides sharing his favorite exercises and routines, John also provides tips on staying motivated, overcoming plateaus, and progressing in your strength training journey.